The Demon Trapper's Daughter (The Demon Trappers, #1) By Jana Oliver

It’s the year 2018, and with human society seriously disrupted by the economic upheavals of the previous decade, Lucifer has increased the number of demons in all major cities. Atlanta is no exception. Fortunately, humans are protected by Demon Trappers, who work to keep homes and streets safe from the things that go bump in the night. Seventeen-year-old Riley, only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing attraction to fellow Trapper apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving citizens from Grade One Hellspawn. Business as usual, really, for a demon-trapping teen. When a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood, she realizes that she’s caught in the middle of a battle between Heaven and Hell.

The prospect of a 17-year-old, demon ass-kicking chick was what initially drew me to this book. I like a good story where a female annihilates--who doesn't? So when the first page of this book starts off with Riley (the protagonist) trapping a demon in a library, I knew I was hooked! I've never read a book dealing with actual, scary demons before, so I was pretty excited to delve into Riley's world where Lucifer's minions were very much a reality. Plus, we get to learn about necromancers, witches, angels, and these things that are basically zombies (but not the stereotypical kind). So there are several supernatural aspects to this book to enjoy.

Although she's a very strong-willed individual, Riley's character is also very naive about a lot of things. I really enjoyed experiencing her character develop-- she deals with a lot of heartbreak and devastation throughout the story that forces her to mature and open her eyes. She's a fighter and I was rooting for her the whole way. It's not easy being the only female demon trapper in The Demon Trapper's Guild. She's surrounded by men, some who think she doesn't deserve to be a part of the Guild because of her gender. But she holds her ground. She's also very humorous at times, which is always a plus for me.

Besides my fondness for Riley, I also quite enjoyed several other characters that were introduced, especially the boys in Riley's life. Denver Beck (a.k.a. Beck) is a true Georgia boy with the most charming/backwoods southern drawl you could imagine, and I am definitely a fan of his. He's cocky, smart, isn't afraid to speak his mind, and he REALLY knows how to get under Riley's skin. I was highly entertained by their constant banter. Simon, on the other hand, is sweet and a gentleman. In my opinion, he's a little boring and too cheesy, but some chicks are into that. A couple of the other guys that are present in this book are Peter and Ori. Peter is Riley's best friend, who is sort of a geek, but totally awesome. We don't know a whole lot about Ori yet, other than he's insanely swoon-worthy. I'm interested to see what kind of shenanigans Riley will get herself into involving one or more of these four guys, because it's bound to happen!

In addition to Riley and several of the other characters, I got such a kick out of some of the different kinds of demons that were introduced in this book. Some of them were super creepy and lethal, but others were just comical and somewhat adorable. I also found humor in how some of them were trapped. I've got to hand it to the author for her creativity. She also did very well in creating so many different characters that you know you maybe shouldn't like, but you do anyway because you just can't help yourelf!

The end of the book wraps up with more action, devastation, and questions. But there is also encouragement and hope for Riley. I'm interested to see how things will play out for her and the people in her life, as well as learn the back-stories of some of the characters that I am extremely curious about. I'm sure Soul Thief (The Demon Trappers, #2) will not disappoint.

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